SoPo Cottage: Color Palette for the Duplex

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Color Palette for the Duplex

As we finish the final touches, I thought it would be nice to share the color palette that we chose.

I think most of you know that I have a step by step approach to decide on colors for wall, trim, tile, etc. I start with something I love (fabric, artwork, favorite pillow, etc) and build from there (for more how-to, see this blog post How to Choose Paint Colors).

For the duplex, we got off to an easy start! The gorgeous stained glass in the living room of both units gave us our starting point. It has a beautiful color palette with earthy colors - golds, creams, green and a bit of aubergine (aka purple).

After looking at the space and paint chips during different times of the day, we decided to go with the golden tones and chose a creamy neutral for the majority of the walls - Muslin by Sherwin Williams. It warms up the space and provides a nice contrast for the bright, extra white trim work.

Oh, and remember the plaster repair that was being done all over the 2 units? Well look at the difference in the ceiling!

In the kitchen, the Heavy Cream color of the cabinets didn't give us enough variation from the Linen color in the rest of the first floor, so we went one shade darker on the color chart with a Sherwin Williams color called Netuschke. With all the white subway tile that's going in there, it will provide a nice pop in the space - especially with all our inset tile that we're adding.

Kitchen Cabinets and Glass/Marble Inset for Backsplash

The tile in the Owner's Kitchen still needs to be grouted.....but I'm loving the look! Can't decide what I like best: spherical pendant, tile or industrial style faucet!!!

We went with a marble tile in the Tenants Kitchen - but with the same inset style and a chicken wire and glass pendant. Still a little work to do, but once the tile is finished and the open shelves are installed, it will be great!

The first floor bathrooms already had quite a bit of the creamy color with the tile, so we wanted to go with something a bit more monochromatic. We choose Shoji White in an eggshell finish (eggshell is much more durable in a bathroom with the high humidity).

And in the upstairs bathrooms? We wanted to have a little more color! So here we went with a color called Mild Blue. It's a great companion for the tile floor, with its glass and marble mini mosaic.

Finally, we had to choose carpet color. We wanted to do the master bedrooms in wall-to-wall carpet. I know, I know, carpet isn't trendy these days. But I still like it for a bedroom. It warms up the space (particularly for bare feet!) and absorbs a lot of sound as well. We went with a mini pattern, low pile carpet in a color called Hazelnut. It's soft underfoot and looks great in the Master Bedroom of each unit.